Versailles Tag Archives

Author Hilary Mantel has been drowning in accolades since Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies hit the bookstore shelves, the stage and then the TV screen. But I found it surprising when Mantel said women writers must stop falsely empowering female characters in history, referring specifically to historical fiction authors. It’s interesting that Mantel dislikes that part about historical fiction but doesn’t mind changing up other …

I just finished watching season 1 of Versailles, the newest offering of dramatized royal history on television. Brought to us by Canada and France production companies, Versailles tells the story of the early days of the building of the Palace of Versailles during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV. We meet King Louis, of course, and get to marvel at his fabulous hair. We also meet …

Despite the name of this blog, the Lazy Historian didn’t actually get lazy. She got busy with work and book stuff. SIGH. But I’m back with another post for Marie Antoinette Month, in honor of the doomed queen’s 260th birthday. This post discusses her husband, Louis XVI of France. Expectations would be high for any descendant of Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, the …

(View Part 1 of Marie Antoinette’s life here.) Marie Antoinette had always loved children and the pressure to conceive royal heirs came from so many angles, so the stress from this put strain on the couple’s relationship. Sources vary on the reason why the delay (some say lack of sexual education, other historians claim Louis-Auguste had a problem with his equipment), but the couple finally consummated the …

Since today is Marie Antoinette‘s birthday (the ripe old age of 260), I decided to make the whole month about my favorite doomed French queen. The posts to follow in this series will span the month of November and will relate to the people who were close to her during her life: her mother, her husband, her friends and more. Keep in mind, I didn’t …